Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Cabinet nod for two more medical, dental colleges

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD NOV. 8. In a series of decisions relating to different sections of people, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, which met here on Saturday, gave its approval to two more private medical and two dental colleges, transfer of powers to local bodies and schemes for industrial workers, handloom weavers, tribal children and fishermen.

In approving these programmes, the Cabinet seems to have adopted a guarded strategy of taking vital decisions catering to different constituencies and yet make them appear to be routine in the backdrop of intense speculation over early Assembly elections.

Briefing presspersons after the Cabinet meeting, the Information and Public Relations Minister, S. Chandramohan Reddy, was evasive when he was asked whether the meeting discussed the issue of early poll. "It was not, but elections will be held in 2004," he declared, and did not go beyond it. "The speculation of early elections is confined to the media and the Opposition."

If the subject of early polls had not come up for discussion, why did the Cabinet approve schemes to different sections of people? "It is the Government's responsibility to take decisions at the appropriate time. It is a continuous process and has nothing to do with elections."

Permission has been granted for setting up two private medical colleges at Patancheru in Medak district and Suryapet in Nalgonda district while the dental colleges would be at Warangal and Bhongir in Nalgonda district, he said. Referring to the issue of some private medical and dental colleges in Adilabad, Srikakulam, Cuddapah and Kurnool not following the guidelines formulated by the Medical and Dental Councils of India, the Cabinet decided to review the situation and seek fresh proposals after the expiry of the time given by the MCI and DCI. A proposal would be sent to the Centre to sanction Rs. 100 crores for upgrading the Nizam's Institute of Medical Science here into a Centre of Medical Excellence.

The decision to transfer powers to the local bodies was on the expected lines with Mr. Reddy making it clear that all the recommendations made by the Cabinet Sub-Committee, had been approved.

The Cabinet approved a Rs. 39.95-crore housing scheme for fishermen with a unit cost of Rs. 40,000; Rs. 60-crore programme shared by the Centre and State Governments for modernisation/ skill improvement for handloom weavers and six more residential schools for tribal children at a cost of Rs. 8.5 crores.

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